Domain Names - .net or a dash - What is best?

by Webmarketingmaster

Posted: 16 years ago 26 replies

Im sure everyone knows that most of the good domain names for almost every niche are long gone.

Here is my question - Is it better to get a .com domain with a dash like best-software.com or would it be better to get it with a .net like bestsoftware.net ???

obviously these exact domains are not available but Im sure you all get the point. In this question Im refering to organic search results. Is it easier to optimize for organic with a dash - or a .net ??

What are your thoughts?

Thanks all.....

#dash #domain #names #net #seo

JasonP 16 years ago

I'm sure you'll get a lot more google love without the dashes. Go for the .net or .org if available, BUT if you have to resort to dashes, suffixes and prefixes always use .com

Hope this helps!
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Tom Byrde 16 years ago

Good advice there from Jason. I alwaus go for the .net of the .com is taken too.

Tom
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kelvin yeo 16 years ago

Definitely the .net or .org without dashes. With dashes is the less preferred option. Having said this, you'll still rank well for dashes assuming you've done your keyword research well and have done your off-page optimization.
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bha 16 years ago

.net or .org is better than the dashes. Also, try something like buykeyword.com, getkeyword.com, mykeyword.com, etc as an alternative.
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sdkWriter 16 years ago

dot net or dot org. If you're building micro niche sites, a-la xfactor, move to another keyword if you can't get the com/net/org tld.
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warrich 16 years ago

without dash is best domains
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kendrickyi 16 years ago

I just think having no dashes is more "visually appealing" and I prefer not having any dash.

I've seen domains that end with .me instead of .com or .net or .org. .me sounds quite personal and I like it.
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SherryLee 16 years ago

I say go for the .net. That name is still trusted. A dash can look kind of spammy.
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freddy smith 16 years ago

what is a good example of domain or company that use .net
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- oliverwinston 16 years ago
  
  In order of best to worst.
  
  1. .com
  2. net
  3. .org
  
  4. .com with a hyphen (as long as it is an exact keyword match)
  
  I've had good luck with .me domains if nothing better is available.
  
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- Armandotoledo 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by freddy smith
  
  what is a good example of domain or company that use .net
  
  just visit goldbar.net
  I think they are good
  
  Thanks
  
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bgmacaw 16 years ago

For SEO purposes, it makes no difference. What matters are links, the quality and the quantity of them.

For resell and branding purposes, an undashed .com will do the best due to the mythology surrounding it unless the undashed version spells something unfortunate.
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- paulgl 16 years ago
  
  domain name doesn't mean squat to google.
  .net?????? No big ones?????
  earthlink.net
  Case closed.
  Where do you people get your info?
  
  Paul
  
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  fir3d 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by paulgl
  
  domain name doesn't mean squat to google.
  .net?????? No big ones?????
  earthlink.net
  Case closed.
  Where do you people get your info?
  
  Paul
  
  Actually domain name means a lot to google. You can rank with an irrelevant domain, nobody will argue with that, but it is a LOT more easier with the exact match domain.
  
  Thanks
  
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bigbyte 16 years ago

.net's work OK, but I think you lose roughly 20% of the available traffic. A .org works great for a non-commercial intent. I always go .com after I compared the results of .net and .org domains.
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sjedwardz 16 years ago

Is there any empirical evidence on .coms being the best,no dashes, etc or is it urban myth / gut feeling?? I've seen it bandied around a lot.

After all "google.com" doesn't exactly scream out search engine does it?
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- bigbyte 16 years ago
  
  Google is a brand name.
  
  Do you own a brand or a website? If you just own a website the first 3 things somebody sees in search results is your page title, site description, and the domain name. These 3 things need to a) match the search intend as good as possible and they need to create trust.
  
  Now think SPAM and decide what eventually helps to raise the trust level. You have to do testing and eventually waste a few domain names (they are disposable), but once you see what works best ... rinse and repeat.
  
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edgray 16 years ago

the only time the TLD extension in a domain really matters is when it comes to geotargetting and so forth. For example, it helps to have a .co.uk address to rank in google.co.uk.

I would try to avoid hyphens - Google doesn't need words to be hyphenated to understand them (except in certain circumstances... like molestationnursery.com, they should've put one there!)
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ClearWater404 16 years ago

in my experience, using dashes will require more offsite SEO work to rank well.

between .net and .org, my .org sites rank quicker and better, but you can still achieve page 1 rankings in G with a .net.

make sure your main keyword is in your domain name, if you cannot get it as
keyword.com or keyword.org, then go for mykeyword.com or keyword101.com or keyword123.com ...
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mloveridge17 16 years ago

I would go for a .com over a .net or .org ANY DAY, even with a dash. In fact, the dash actually HELPS the search engines figure out the specific words. When it comes to organic rankings, dashes don't detract at all.

Now, when it comes to memorability and ease of use, dashes can be an impediment, but not so much to loose any sleep over. I recommend .com all the way.
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JadeCloud 16 years ago

It doesn't really matter. Google treats a dash as a space.
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ninfanforlife 16 years ago

I am a big fan of this rule com > net > org
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- searchnology 16 years ago
  
  From a technical standpoint the search engines don't care if you use .com, .net, .org, or dashes.
  
  For human viewers the aesthetics, branding and credibility of a short .com domain with no dashes is the way to go. That's why there are so many weird .com names that aren't indicative of what their site offers.
  
  What the hell is a Squidoo anyway?
  
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  dburk 16 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by searchnology
  
  What the hell is a Squidoo anyway?
  
  A Squidoo is similar to an Orkut which part of the Google family and any Yahoo would knol that unless you are a Hulu living in the Amazon!
  
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user17os 16 years ago

yes ... better for you to choose .net or .org, use dash for your domain will make seems spammy site.
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- Negotiator74 16 years ago
  
  I have more than 100 sites currently so I have first hand experience here. I agree with many above that .com, .net .org are all fine. Now what hasn't been said is that the dash sites do have equal footing as long as it's an exact match to your keyword BUT they do TAKE LONGER TO RANK. In other words, if I set up a keyword.com site and a key-word.com site they will both rank well EVENTUALLY...but, the non-dash site will rank MUCH QUICKER and with less off page SEO. Hope that helps.
  
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